The Other
by The Lone Swordsman
Summary: A single man wakes up in darkness and is thrust into a major war between two opposing forces.
1. Prologue : The Void

The Other

**Prologue: The Void**

He awoke. His head was spinning. Where was he?

"Ahh, you're up, good," said a voice in the darkness.

"What?"

"Don't worry, Mister Murdock. You're in safe hands," replied the voice in an eerie tone as a figure emerged. "My Employers are very interested in what you have to offer."

"Who are you?"

"My name is not important... What is important is that you still have a contract with us and now the time has come for you to fulfill that contract."

The figure was now recognizable. He... or it, wore a blue suit and was holding some kind of a briefcase.

"You, now I remember you. You the ass hole that knocked me unconscious."

"Now, now, no need for crude language. Yes, I knocked you unconscious but I'm sure you wouldn't have wanted to be bored for the long time you've been asleep."

"Long time... How long?"

"Well, I'm not really at liberty to say. However I will tell you this, it has been a very long time. In any case as I previously stated you're hour has come. My employers have decided that now is the best time for you're contract with us to begin. It's time for you to begin Mister Murdock," said the blue suit as he began to walk away from Murdock and into the darkness

"Wait, what am I supposed to do?"

There was only silence, and the darkness consumed him.


	2. Chapter 1 : Awakened

The Other

**Chapter 1 : Awakened**

He awoke... again. His head was spinning... again. But this time he wasn't in the dark void. He still did not know where he was but he felt safer, away from the blue suit.

There was a knock at the door.

"Open up!" said a voice through what sounded like a portable radio.

There was a second knock.

Murdock couldn't explain it but something was telling him to run, like it knew that these people meant him harm.

There was a third knock.

"Break it down!"

He was right. From the room he was in he heard the door crash and splinter then he heard the screams and grunts of pain from people in the other room. He didn't want to be in the same boat as them so Murdock moved out the window nearby and sidled along the wall.

"I heard something in here."

"Check the outside. Get up on the roof!"

They were coming for him, he had to get away. But, where could he go? They were coming up the stairs and he was stuck on the roof. He looked around. Then he spotted his one glimpse of hope, an open window across the street with a clothes line hanging above it. It was just his luck that a pair of jeans were hanging on the line too. He had to move quickly so he grabbed the line and pulled the jeans closer to him. Finally he got them and quickly he fashioned them into a zip-line. He heard the radio-voices and quickly zip-lined across the street.

Unbelievable, it actually worked, he thought.

He looked out the window again to see if they had spotted him. They were focused on something else. Another man was running from them, he was familiar. Suddenly Murdock's mind flashed back to the chaos that landed him in the blue suits hands. Back when he was in Black Mesa. He remembered who he had just seen.

It was Gordon Freeman.


	3. Chapter 2 : Shepard of the Flock

The Other

**Chapter 2: Shepard of the Flock**

Gordon Freeman.

So he was still alive. The last time Murdock could remember seeing him was just before Gordon had teleported to Zen. When both he and one H.E.C.U. soldier had entered the chamber.

What ever happened to that H.E.C.U. soldier anyway, Murdock wondered.

"A very good question, Mister Murdock," said a familiar sounding, eerie, voice. "He is under my care as you were."

"You..."

"Yes it is me again. I fear I left you without all the necessary information during our last encounter."

"Like how long its been."

"Yes. It has been almost 20 years since the Black Mesa Incident. In that time an alien collective has been in control of the planet, the Combine."

"So I'm guessing the guys who tried broke down the door of the place you left me in were Combine?"

"Precisely, I had not considered the size of the forces, the Combine had amassed. Therefore sending one man in alone would be sending him to his death. So I have been given authorization by my employers to give you an ally in this endeavour. That H.E.C.U. soldier you met all those years ago, Adrian Shepard."

"Shepard, huh? Hmm. Well I guess it's better than nothing."

"Precisely. Unfortunately it is not in the wishes of my employers to just give him to you. No, you will have to make your way to the river so that you may prove yourself to us," stated the blue suit.

"You have got to be &) with me," retaliated Murdock, "I don't even have a &# weapon."

"I'm sure you'll make due," replied the blue suit, "after all in Black Mesa you proved your resourcefulness."

"I hate you," muttered Murdock as walked out the door.


	4. Chapter 3 : Conflict

Chapter 3 : Conflict

Chapter 3 : Conflict

"," swore Murdock out loud, "Didn't expect this much resistance."

He had only just set foot outside of the tenement building where he met the blue suit, when he saw two armoured cars drive down the road and unload two platoons of soldiers. At least he thought they were soldiers. They were dressed for the part, but from the radio chatter he could hear, they were apparently something called Metro Cops. Six of them had gone into the building with smokestacks in font of him but two stayed behind and stood around the cars. Luckily they had yet to see him standing in the doorway of the building.

"Its a good thing too," whispered Murdock to himself. He found that comforting, just like in Black Mesa. "I won't stand a chance against them with just my fists and no armour. sigh What to do, What to do."

There was nothing around him to use as a weapon. He wanted a weapon, needed a weapon. One of the cops turned and looked in his direction. Murdock quickly bent his body out of the doorway

"#, I think he saw me," swore Murdock again. Sure enough the cop was moving towards him.

"Okay, I've got one chance at this," said Murdock as he quickly formed a hash-plan in his head.

The cop was now at the door. Murdock slowed his breathing. For several seconds it was deathly quiet.

"Hmph," grunted the cop into his radio, "Must be seeing things." He started walking away. Murdock used the fact that the cops back was turned to attack.

Running at the cop Murdock kept his footsteps quiet until he was within arms reach of the cop. Using his stealth to his advantage Murdock grabbed the cops stun stick off of his belt.

"What the, grunt beeeeeep" came from the cops radio as the stun stick made contact with his head.

"One down," laughed Murdock as he ran directly toward the second cop.

"Mayday, Mayday, Hostile at tenement block ...grunt beeeeeeep" Murdock heard from the second radio.

Hey everybody this is my first fan fic and I've been short on time lately so i haven't had time to add an authors note... until now. So tell me what you think of it.


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